Hopeless - Part one.
by Revvy
Summary: An alternate 'timeline'.. in this, Cloud dies in the scene where Aeris was supposed to. This is just the beginning, and its not very long. More to come! Reveiws welcome, I can only get better.


_Everything's gone wrong_, thought Aeris Gainsborough, burrowing tear-stained face into her hands, _everything. This isn't how it should go... The planet...all the people. There's nothing we can do.. Cloud, come back.._  
  
Her thoughts weren't far from the norm of the group of would-be heros. The Cetra temple. Sephiroth had somehow controlled Cloud..or drove him insane. Aeris was praying upon the ancient, marble alter.. Cloud had come up behind her with a sword. Face blank, eyes even moreso, he had raised his sword.. in all appearances to strike off the head of one unaware Aeris. The screams of the rest of the team had broken Aeris' praying.. the girl spinning and kicking at Cloud.   
  
It was then, weilding impossibly long sword Sephiroth had plunged from somewhere above, straight for Aeris. She didn't see..too busy escaping Cloud to notice. But he.. Cloud, saw. He lunged for Sephiroth.. both combatants falling to the water surrounding the upheld pillars.   
  
It wasn't long.. a madly laughing, dripping Sephiroth had risen and ran from the waters. Everyone had either fallen to their knees.. shaken their heads in disbelief, or in the case of Aeris, simple curled up into herself and cried.   
  
Days later Aeris only cried at times. The others, besides Tifa, who had cried into Aeris' shoulder, and Aeris in hers in turn, had long since dried their tears and thought of a way to protect the planet from Meteor and Sephiroth. Their ideas? They were simply for themselves.. each more far-reaching and far-fetched than the last. There wasn't hope. Cloud, however insane and lost within himself he may be, lead them, or inspired something that enabled the rest to know what to do. They were lost without Cloud. The world was lost...all this time was for nil.  
  
The team had taken residence in Nibelheim. The people still were as indifferent as always. Tifa sat on the bench of her piano, resting back against the keys. Aeris lay upon the bed. Neither cried at this moment, but the look on their faces was simply ashen disbelief.  
  
"...I don't want to forget. I don't want to move on, as much as the others say to..." Aeris curled against Tifa's oversized teddy bear. "I know..this is pathetic of us, to sit here and just..mourn, but I don't want to face ...everything."  
  
Tifa nodded slowly.. she had the same feeling. Cloud was always her escape from cold reality..she always daydreamed about her telling the truth to Cloud..and him returning the sentiment. Aeris had said the same.. They both came to terms on this, you know? They both shared their feelings on Cloud.. both thought he was secretly closer to the other. "They don't get it ..well, besides Vincent..maybe Yuffie. We're all.. lost. Even with the last Ancient on our side, there's nothing. I think that's why Sephiroth laughed..he knew he'd won. Somehow he did...." her voice just broke. Teeth bit down into lower lip..Aeris burried her face into the blanket. It was still hard to talk about Cloud.. it had been at least a week, but it still burned.   
  
"But..don't you think Cloud'd want us to try? So his life wasn't..in vain.. " Aeris looked up at Tifa..eyes slightly glazed over.   
  
"I thought that. But..how? If we..if we could get the ideas that would work ..there's no time to plan it out..get everything together." Neither needed to look out the window to see Meteor anymore. The red seemed to seep through the window shade. Tifa swore if she stuck her hand up she could touch it..  
  
A heavy knock at the door..Aeris nor Tifa moved. A second knock a moment later.. the door opening a crack. A voice, rather low and quiet..sympathetic..poured from behind it. "..Tifa? Aeris?"   
  
"What, Vincent.. "Both females said at the same time. Vincent had helped them so much through this time.. even if he kept disappearing, he was always someone to talk to. He had advice..almost that 'fatherly' quality they needed so much right now..  
  
"Just making sure you two were alright.." Door was opened all the way.. Vincent Valentine, now dropping the dark garb in choice of simple white turtleneck and black slacks, walked in. He stepped to the piano bench, sliding down next to Tifa. "...Everyone's worried." He too leant back against the white and black keys, elbows propped behind him. It was a common sentiment, though the others were often less..nice about it. Cid had reduced both women to a solid hour of tears..  
  
"Yeah. We're fine.." Tifa leaned to the side, resting her head on Vincent's shoulder. "Just..thinking."  
  
"Perhaps you think to much. The others are worried.." he repeated, patting the dark-haired girl on the head.   
  
"Yeah well..what else is there to do?" Aeris rolled her stomach and rested herself up with her head on her hands. "We should take this time to have a little peace. Not like we're gonna get much more." She waved a hand airily at the window.   
  
"Another thing I came to talk about with you two. I think I may have an idea of how we could stop...that." Masculine hand waved also to the window, a slight grin pasted upon pale, thin lips. Foot propped agaist the bed, hand moving to the piano to tap at a few keys.  
  
"What?!" Both looked shocked, Tifa's head perking and leaning forward, looking at him. He held silence for a moment before speaking again.  
  
"Well as you know I spent..a time in the basement of the Shinra's hold down the street. In my time before I ..rested.. I looked through the books there. I may have found an answer. Holy, you know Aeris, the thing you said you prayed for..? It was studied, briefly by Hojo. For some reason..it's not working. But there may be a way to fix that."   
  
Not a word said. All three nearly ran to the mansion, Tifa and Aeris in the lead. Maybe they put their thoughts of hopelessness behind them for a minute..maybe Vincent had a way of making them beleive again. Soon the trio found themselves in the poorly lit library area, looking for the book Vincent had before mentioned in the messed pile left by Sephiroth. It was found, soon pouring across the pages in search.  
  
  
  
"But...this means we'll have to..." Aeris looked aghast at the other two, tear strained down her cheek. Vincent nodded solmnly, Tifa hiding her face in her hands, body shaking a bit..   
  
"For the world to survive, we must.."  
  
(To be continued.)  



End file.
